Garage-door construction



Sept. 10, 1929. w. D. #E ms v 1,727,370

GARAGE DOOR CONSTRUCTION .Filed May 21, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 10,1929.

w. D. FERRIS 1,727,370

GARAGE DOOR CONSTRUCTION Filed May 21, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 10, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATE T: O ICE. I

ING (30., or. STERLING, ILLInoIs, A CORPORATION on ILLInoIs.

GARAGE-DOOR oonsrnuc'rion.

Application filed my 21, 1928. Serial No. 279,381;

This invention relates to garage doors, or doors for other buildings, of thatkind in which one or more sliding sections and a swinging section are hinged together and supported for sliding movement on" an overhead track, which ordinarily has onestraight section above the doorway, another straight section on the side of the building. and a curved section connecting the two straight sections together, whereby the door structure is adapted to slide or move out of the doorway and around the curve int-0a pos1- tion at the side of the building. I

Generally stated, the object of the invention isto provide a novel and improved hanger whereby the swinging door section has a swivel support adaptedto travel on.

said track, whereby the swinging door section is always fully supported in all posi tions thereof, is prevented from sagging, and is prevented from swinging around while the door structure as a Whole-is being opened.

It is also an object to provide certaindetails and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general effi ciency and the desirability of. a slidingand swinging door. structure of this particular character. I, j

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in the matters herein after set forth and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is an inside elevation of a door,

structure embodying the principles of the invention, showing certain portions broken away for convenience of illustration. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail section'on line 22inFig.1. 1 Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on line 33 in Fig. 1. I Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view showing the front wall ofthe garage, and also the side wall thereof, in horizontal'section, and showing thetrack and the door structure in plan view. w f

' Fig. 5 is an enlarged front elevation of the special hanger for the swinging door, showing adjacent portions of the track and door.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on line 66 inFig.5.3 j I As thus illustrated, the'building has a front wall 1 provided with the usual or any suitable doorway 2, and has a side wall 3 at 515' right anglesthercto. Inside the building, thetrack for supporting the door structure comprises the horizontal straight portion 4 suitably mounted overthe doorway, the, straight portion 5 suitablymounted on the side wall of the building,and the curved sec-. tion '6 connecting the two straight track sections together. "The said track'can' be of any suitable character, but is preferably a co I bined sheet-metal housing and track, as shown moreclearlyin Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. I J I y The twosliding doorsections T and 8 are hinged together by upper and lower hin es 9. (the'lower hingesnot shown), andt e swingingdoor section lOis hinged to the sliding section Shy upper and lower hinges 11(theflowe1 hinges not shown), and the three door sections are supported by hangers 12, of any suitable character, on the said track, all in sucha manner, as shown, that the door sectionsv can slide or travelaround the curve6-and finally be supported in fully open position by the track well known manner I To prevent the swinging door section from being a dead weight on' thehinges 11; and to keep it fromv sagging a special hanger 13 is provided to travel on the track section 5, in the so" like the other hangers, and this hanger 13 has a swivel rod connection 14 Withthe door section 10, as shown. This rod has its horizontalportion pivoted at 15 on the lower end portion ofthe hanger 13, while the ver-,'

tical portion 16 of said rod is swiveledz in the bearing 17 ofthe bracket plate 18 on the adjacent'upper corner portion of the swinging door section. A spring-pressed catch 19, of any suitable character, is pivoted on the swinging door section in posi' tion to slide under the upper horizontal portion of the rod 14, and'then spring upward into latching position when theswinging door section 10 is swung inward, thus latching the swinging door section in position on its special hanger. When this has been done, the entire door structure is in condition to slide or travel around the curve 6 and into open position on the track 5, thus fully opening the doorway. The swinging section 10 being latched in position on its special hanger 13,.it follows that this door section cannot swing around or interfere, or get in the way, when the door structure is open, this swinging door section forming the leading section when the sections are moved on the track around the curve and into fully open position.

When the door structure isto be closed, the entire structure is rolled on the wheels of the hangers, around the curve 6 and back into position to close the doorway. a pull on the chain or other connection 20, which is fastened at its upper end to the catch 19, will pull the catch downward and out of engagement with the rod 14, thus permittingthe swinging section, 10 to be moved or swung into fully closed position in the plane of the two sliding doorflsections.

The plate 18 preferably has an upper projecting portion21 that slides over and bears upon the upper horizontal portion of the rod it when the swinging door section 10 is latched on its special hanger in the manner described, whereby the weight of the door section 10 is imposed on the rod 1 1 at a point closer to the pivot 15 than would be the case if the bearing 17 was relied upon at such time to alone support the door section 10, on the pivot 15 of thespecial hanger, thus very firmly keeping the swinging door section 10 in position to move straight ahead edgewise during the opening movement of the door structure as a whole. 7 I

It will be seen that a portion 22 of plate 18 serves as a stop to limit the swing of the arm 14 under the overhanging shoulder 21, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

While it is desirable to use the invention in connection with, a swinging door section 10 that forms the leading section of a $91168 of sliding door sections, it will be understoodthat some features ofthe invention may be used in other ways, and on other doors, without-departing from the spirit of theinvention. i

Moreover, it lwillhe understood that the track section '5 in practice is long enough to accommodate all the door sections'thereon, sothat the doorwaywill be fully open when the door structure is in positionat one side of the building.

Again, it will be seen that the swingingdoor, section '10 only swingsinward a distance sufficient, to latch to the special hanger 13, in position to lead the other door sec.- tions around the curve. It does not, in other words, asshown and described, open far enough to permit entrance through the Then by sliding the door structure far enough to one side, either partially or fully around the curve 6, so that entrance is between the section 7 and the other side of the doorway. Suitable handles (not shown) can be applied to the outer sides of the door sections to assist in opening the door structure. In addition, any kind of looking or latching means (not shown) may be employed for locking or latching the entire "door structure in closed position, if such is necessary or desirable.

Without disclaiming anything, and without prejudice to any novelty disclosed, what Iclaim' as my invention is:

1. Sliding and swinging door construction comprising a track having two straight sections disposed at an angle to each other, with a curved track section connecting together the said 'two straight sections, one or more sliding door sections provided with hangers adapted to travel on said track, a swinging door section hinged to a sliding door section, an additional hanger mounted to'travel onusaid track, ahorizontally' disposed arm pivoted at one end to swing hori zontally on the lower end portion of said additional hanger, and a vertical swivel connection between the other end of said arm and the adjacent upper corner portion of the permitting said" swinging door section, swinging door-section to swing lnwarda distance from its closed position, whereby the swinging section is supported against sagging in all positions thereof, permitting the'entire door structure to move out of the doorway and around the curve into a fully open position at the side of the building.

. 2. A structure as specified inclaim 1, having a catch on the swinging door section to engage said arm and prevent said arm from swining about its swivel connection with the swinging door section while the door structure is moving into open position.

3. A structure as specified in claim 1, having a catch on the swinging door section to engagesaid arm and prevent said arm from swinging about its swivel connection with theswinging door section while the door structure is moving into open position,

together with manually operable means for, disengaging the catch from said arm when the door structure is moved intoclosed position, permitting said swinging door section to then swing outward into closed position.

4. A structure as specified in claim l, said 7 horizontally disposed arm pivoted on said hanger at one end and swiveled on said door at its other end, means including a stop limiting the swing of said arm toward the door, when the door is swinging inward from closed position, limiting the inward swing of the door, and a hanger on said track to support the other upper corner of said door. 6. A structure as specified in claim 5, having a catch on said door to engage and hold said arm against said stop, together with manually operable means for disengaging the catch from said arm.

7. A structure as specified in claim 5, comprising a projection disposed on said door in position to slide over and rest upon said arm to impose the Weight of the door on the arm at a point nearer its pivot on said hanger. Specification signed this 19th day of May,

WILLIAM D. FERRIS. 

